


Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

by Spiderlass



Series: Tales From Duckburg! [7]
Category: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 2018), DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: ADHD Character, Autistic Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship (mentioned), Identity Reveal, M/M, Muscovy is surprisingly not the worst, Sibling Relationship, adhd Gosalyn, autistic Drake, mentioned past emotional abuse, though he does have to work on being a better older brother, trans male drake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 23:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20938709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiderlass/pseuds/Spiderlass
Summary: Two days after Gosalyn's adoption became official, Drake gets a surprising visitor.





	Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

**Author's Note:**

> Warning! This chapter contains references to past emotional abuse. Please be careful!

It had been two days, seven hours, and twelve minutes since Gosalyn Elizabeak McQuack had been adopted, and it already felt like she’d lived with her dads forever. Even though it had only been last Friday that the judge had finally said she could go home with them, she already felt like she’d lived at 334 Plumed Place all her life, like they’d been an official, state-sanctioned family since the day she was born.

Unfortunately, that came with a few new annoyances.

Like when the doorbell rang just as Moe Houston bounced Hay Wyatt off the turnbuckle.

“Gos, sweetie, can you get the door?”

“But Dad! We’re right in the middle of the go-home Roar before Summerbash!”

“... yeah, I don’t know what any of those words mean when in that order.”

Gosalyn rolled her eyes, looking up at her dad over the back of the couch.

“It  _ means  _ that this is the last Monday Night Roar before the Summerbash pay-per-view on Sunday, so it’s the last one to wrap up storylines  _ before _ that pay-per-view! They could be setting up the Deletion Cult for a surprise comeback victory over the C-Team!”

_ “Oh, and Junior Perfect rolls up the Awoken One for the one, two, three, it’s oveeeeer!” _

_ “Your winners, and still Roar Tag Team Champions, the C-Team!” _

“... or not.” Gosalyn shot a glare at the TV. “Thanks a  _ lot,  _ Michael Crow. Glad  _ you’re  _ so happy about it.”

Her dad chuckled, giving her a look from the kitchen table.

“Well, now that your match is over, please get the door.”

“Why can’t you get it?”

“Because I’m right in the middle of registering you for school,” he replied, gesturing at his laptop, “and I can’t ask your father, because he’s in Australia helping Mr. McDuck investigate why all the wool from his sheep farm there keeps going missing.”

“Uuuugghhhh, do I  _ have  _ to?”

“Get the door, or go to school? Because the answer to both is yes.”

“Why can’t I be home-schooled like Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby?”

“Because Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby live in a giant manor on a very large hill that is notably situated outside the bounds of any nearby public school zones, while we live ten minutes away from your new school.”

The doorbell rang again. 

“Gosalyn-!”

“Okay, okay!” Gosalyn said as she hopped off the couch. “It’s a commercial break anyway.”

“Thank you!” Her dad called as she walked towards the front door. Gosalyn rolled her eyes as she grabbed the doorknob.

“Yeah, yeah. Okay, look, buddy, whatever it is that you’re selling-!” Gosalyn blinked, trailing off as she took in the sight of the guy at the door. He was taller than her dad, but not nearly as tall as her pops (though that would have been a feat in and of itself- the only two people she’d ever met who were taller than him were Grandpa Ripcord and Donald’s stork friend), and he was wearing what Gosalyn was pretty sure was a bespoke suit.

He also looked almost  _ exactly  _ like her dad, just a little older, with slicked-back hair and a more defined beak, and greenish-gray eyes instead of dark blue.

“Er... I’m sorry, is this the Mallard residence?” He asked, seeming nervous.

“Uh, Mallard-McQuack, actually... Dad?” She called.

“Yes, Gosalyn? Who’s at the door?”

“Some guy who looks weirdly like you!”

“Wh-  _ Dad?”  _ The strange duck asked.

Gosalyn heard a crash from the kitchen, but before she could ask about that her dad came rushing to the door, eyes wide and shocked.

_ “Muscovy?”  _ He asked, sounding a little breathless.

_ “Dad?!”  _ The duck who was apparently named Muscovy asked, gesturing wildly at Gosalyn.

“No, he’s  _ my  _ dad! I’m pretty sure  _ you’re  _ older than him!”

“No, no, Gos, not-!” Her dad swallowed, pressing his fingers together anxiously. “Hoo, boy. Gosalyn, honey, this... this is my older brother, Muscovy Mallard. Your uncle. Muscovy, this... this is my daughter, Gosalyn McQuack.”

Gosalyn blinked, then narrowed her eyes as she recalled the (admittedly few) details she’d been given about her dad’s family, taking hold of the door.

“Well, sorry, mister, but we’re not interested in whatever it is you’re selling-!”

Her dad caught the door as she tried to close it, and she blinked, looking up at him.

“Uh, Dad?”

“Gos, honey, why don’t... why don’t you head upstairs, huh?”

Gosalyn blinked again, then frowned.

“What? But- but Dad-!”

“It’s- it’s okay, Gosalyn. Really.”

Gosalyn’s frown deepened, but she sighed, giving Muscovy a look before turning back to her dad.

“Well, okay, but my show is still on-!”

“Aren’t you recording it?”

“Well, yeah, it  _ is  _ a three-hour show.”

“Then you can watch it later. Besides, you still have some summer reading left to do, don’t you?”

Gosalyn hesitated, then sighed, nodding.

“Okay... but I got my eye on you, buster!” She warned, pointing at Muscovy, then her own face before scampering up the stairs.

“Wh-  _ Gosalyn!” _

* * *

Drake sighed as his daughter disappeared upstairs, shaking his head before turning back to face his brother.

His brother, whom up until about a minute ago he had genuinely thought might never talk to him again.

“Sorry, uh, she’s- she’s... spirited.”

“Yeah,  _ I’ll  _ say. How do you even have a kid? I think I would’ve noticed if you’d had a baby at, what, nineteen?”

Drake rolled his eyes, biting back a snarky “oh,  _ would  _ you have noticed?”

“She’s  _ adopted,  _ smartass. I adopted her with my partner.”

“Partner?”

“Yeah, his name is Launchpad. He’s, uh, he’s at work right now.” Drake cleared his throat, leaning on the doorway. “So... what are you doing here, Musky?”

Muscovy gave him a look.

“You  _ know _ that I hate that nickname.”

“I’m your little brother, it’s my  _ job _ to annoy you.”

Muscovy rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his face.

“Fair enough, I suppose.” He hesitated, then cleared his throat. “May I come in?”

“Depends on why you’re here.” Drake frowned, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow. “Because if you’re here to try and get me to talk to Mom and Dad, then you should just go. I’m nowhere  _ near  _ ready to make nice.”

“I’m not here to get you to talk to Mom and Dad.” Muscovy stuck his hands in his pockets. “Namely because I’m not really talking to them either right now.”

Drake blinked, bill parting as his eyebrows rose.

“Wh... really?”

“Yeah. Really.” 

Drake swallowed, then stood up, gesturing into the house.

“You’d... you’d better come in, then.”

Muscovy nodded, walking in when Drake stepped aside and looking around as Drake closed the door. 

“Nice place you got here. Very... nineties-esque.”

“Yeah, we- we just finished unpacking a week ago,” Drake started, walking over to the couch and grabbing the remote so he could turn off the TV. “Course, Gos still has to unpack most of her stuff.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, she’s- the adoption was only finalized on Friday, so she’s only lived here full-time since then.”

Muscovy hummed as he sat down in one of the blue armchairs, folding his hands in his lap- posture perfectly straight as always, of course. Drake sat down in the other chair, slumping back in his seat slightly.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, tension hanging in the air between them like it was desperately trying not to fall off a tightrope. Drake bit his bill, then swallowed, opening his beak.

“Mus-!”

“I owe you an apology, Drake.”

Drake blinked, closing his beak and blinking a few times.

“Wha?”

Muscovy snorted.

“Well, really I owe you  _ several  _ apologies. Actually, the list of things I  _ don’t  _ need to apologize to you for is, is probably the shorter one.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, Drake. I’ve... been a pretty crappy big brother to you, haven’t I?”

“W-Well, I, I mean, you weren’t the  _ worst  _ brother in the world-!”

“That doesn’t mean I was a  _ good  _ one. I should’ve- should’ve stood up for you more. When you were getting bullied when we were kids, when Dad would drag you to political events you clearly didn’t want to go to, when Mom-!”

_ “Don’t,”  _ Drake snapped before he could stop himself, wincing and gripping at his upper arms as he looked away. “I don’t... I don’t want to talk about that. I can’t. Not... not yet.”

“Drake...” He heard his brother sigh. “Look, I... I saw a lot of things that- that I pretended not to. I didn’t- didn’t want to think about how badly our parents treated you- Dad was always tough with me, but compared to you...”

Drake swallowed, squeezing his arms a little.

“Wasn’t... wasn’t your fault.”

“No, but I still shouldn’t have just- just stood by and watched it happen. I should have been there for you. I should have- should have told them off a lot sooner. Sooner than tonight, anyway.”

Drake blinked, eyebrows rising again as he looked over at his brother.

“Wait,  _ tonight?” _

Muscovy snorted.

“Yeah, tonight. We were at some event, I don’t even  _ remember  _ for what, and Mom... well, you know Mom, she started complaining about you, called you an ungrateful- er, well, you can probably guess.”

“Standard Mom.”

“Yeah, standard Mom. And, well... I don’t know why, but I just- just thought ‘I’m so sick of this.’” He took a breath. “So I told her to shut her trap and quit complaining about things that are her own fault.”

Drake’s eyes went wide, his beak falling open.

“You  _ didn’t.” _

“I did. There might have been some not so polite language involved on my part. For a second I thought she might cry, but then she just started screaming obscenities at me. Dad tried to get her to calm down, but I’m pretty sure it’ll at least top a few tabloids tomorrow.”

Despite everything, Drake chuckled, shaking his head.

“Won’t that be a sight.”

“Yeah... but the whole time she was yelling at me, all I could think was ‘this probably isn’t even a fraction of how badly she treated Drake.’”

Drake flinched, swallowing the lump in his throat as he looked away.

“So. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you. That I didn’t stick up for you. That I didn’t at least  _ try  _ to help, to call them out on how they treated you. Just because I didn’t treat you like dirt doesn’t mean that I didn’t hurt you.”

Drake hesitated, then sighed, shaking his head.

“Musk, it- it wasn’t your fault.”

“Maybe, but-!”

“No, listen to me. You’re two years older than me. Yeah, you could’ve helped with the bullies, but with Mom and Dad? Imagine if you tried to stand up for me when I was eight and you were ten. Do you honestly think they would have taken you seriously? That they would have listened to you? You were a kid too. They would have dismissed you as an ungrateful brat at best.” Drake swallowed. “And, to be honest, I... I saw how Dad treated you. How he forced you to be the best at everything, and shouted and lectured you when you couldn’t live up to his astronomical expectations. They might not have treated you as badly as they treated me, but they weren’t good to you either.”

Muscovy didn’t answer right away, and out of the corner of his eye he saw him grip at his pant legs. 

“I... I guess you have a point.” He chuckled. “Man. We had some  _ god awful  _ parents, didn’t we?”

“Heh, yeah. Welcome to  _ my  _ world, dude.”

Muscovy laughed, then sighed, leaning back in his chair. 

“So... what do you suggest we do now?”

“Well, I used to get really,  _ really  _ drunk, but that’s not gonna work now for a number of reasons. I think we still have some cake from when we brought Gos home.”

Muscovy laughed, twisting in his chair.

“Sounds good to me. This is a pretty cool little bust, by the way.”

“Oh, thanks- wait, no, don’t touch that-!”

Muscovy jolted slightly just as his hand reached the bust, accidentally knocking it back just enough for the chair’s transport mechanism to trigger. They both screamed as they fell into the tunnel under the house, the world going dark before they were both spat out at the tower.

“Ugh... Musk?”

Muscovy groaned, and Drake bit his bill, getting up as quickly and quietly as he could, sprinting over to where his costume was stored and grabbing it.

“Urgh... Drake? Drake, where are you? Heck, where am  _ I?” _

Drake cleared his throat as he stepped out of the shadows, cape sweeping behind him.

“You’re in my tower, as it turns out. I’d like to know what you’re doing here, sir.”

Muscovy blinked, then furrowed his brow.

“Drake, what are you doing?”

Drake flinched, then cleared his throat.

“I-I’m not sure who you’re referring to, citizen! There’s, there’s no one named Drake here!”

Muscovy gave him a look as he got to his feet.

“Dude, you’re my brother, I know what your voice sounds like. Why are you dressed up like that?”

“It’s- it’s my costume! And I’m not your brother! He’s- he’s probably still at home, or something!”

“Wow, you have  _ not  _ gotten any better at lying in the past twenty years, cause I’m pretty sure that was the last time you ran around dressed as... as...” Muscovy’s eyes went wide, something clearly clicking in his brain. “Oh my god. Oh, my  _ god,  _ it’s you.”

Drake winced.

“I-!”

“I can’t believe this.  _ You’re  _ the nut that’s been dressing up like that superhero from the nineties and stopping bank robberies?!”

“Wh- hey, I’m not a nut! And! And I don’t know you!”

“Drake, would you  _ please  _ cut the act?! This is  _ not  _ a game, you’re not nine years old anymore! You can’t just dress up like Darkwing Duck and- and try to save the world, or whatever!”

“I’m not dressing up  _ like  _ Darkwing Duck, I  _ am  _ Darkwing Duck! And I’m not Drake, so just-!”

Just then, a distant, familiar shout came from the tunnel, and Drake found himself running towards it in order to catch Gosalyn before she fell flat on her face. She ended up crashing into him, knocking them both to the ground.

“Urgh... Gosalyn? You okay, kiddo?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, but I saw you and your brother go into the tunnel, so I... rushed in myself...” Gosalyn grinned sheepishly. “Which I’m now realizing might not have been the best idea.”

“Ya think?”

“Your  _ daughter  _ knows?!” Muscovy exclaimed.

“Technically, she knew me as Darkwing Duck first,” Drake admitted as he helped Gosalyn to her feet before getting to his own.

Muscovy threw his hands in the air.

“That’s not better?!”

Drake sighed, taking off his hat.

“I know, I know it’s not. And I’m sorry that you had to find out about this, but- but well, the truth is, Musk...” He took a breath, slowly removing his mask. “I am Darkwing-!”

“No.”

Drake blinked.

“N... No?”

“No, you- this stops  _ now,  _ you hear me?”

Drake blinked again, then narrowed his eyes.

“Excuse me?”

“Drake, are you  _ insane?  _ Are you, I don’t know,  _ possessed?  _ What the hell makes you think this is a good idea, dressing up like a superhero from the nineties and playing vigilante? You’re  _ not  _ the Duck Avenger! Unless I’ve really missed something, you  _ don’t  _ have any superpowers!”

“I- well, no, but I’ve- I’ve  _ trained  _ with the Duck Avenger!” He paused. “Many times. It... was actually quite painful. But still! I did it, and in case you hadn’t heard, you know who took down Taurus Bulba? Not the Duck Avenger, not Gizmoduck, it was  _ me!” _

“He  _ blew himself up!” _

“I helped!”

“You also ended up in the hospital for like two and a half weeks,” Gosalyn added.

“Wh- not  _ now,  _ Gos!”

“No, no,  _ thank you,  _ Gos! How does your  _ ten-year-old  _ have more sense than you?!”

“Hey, don’t twist my words, I’m one hundred percent pro Darkwing Duck here! If it weren’t for him, I’d probably be dead in a ditch somewhere!”

“Yeah, she’d-! Gosalyn,  _ please  _ don’t put that mental image in your dad’s head.”

“Oops. Sorry, Dad.”

Muscovy rolled his eyes.

“Well, you’re ten, so of course  _ you  _ think the vigilante thing is a good idea!”

Gosalyn narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

“The fact that I’m a kid didn’t seem to bug you a minute ago.”

“Wh- okay, fair point, but still! Drake, you’re my little brother. I might not have been there for you before, but I can’t- I can’t in good conscious let you go and get yourself killed now!”

Drake grit his teeth, rage boiling in his gut when an idea struck him. He relaxed, folding his arms across his chest. 

“Okay. Then let’s go.”

Muscovy blinked; out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gosalyn do the same.

“Huh?” Both of them asked.

“You think I’m not capable of taking care of myself? Then take me on yourself.” He took off his cape, tossing it to the side. “Right here, right now, you and me.”

Muscovy narrowed his eyes.

“You’re serious.”

“As a heart attack,” he confirmed as he took off his gas gun and utility belt, tossing both to the side. “No tricks, no tools, just you and me, one on one. If you can beat me, I’ll hang up the cape for good. But if I win, you’ll accept that I’m not a little kid and can take care of myself, even without fancy equipment.”

“... you realize that there’s like, a whole wall at home dedicated just to the sports trophies I’ve won, right?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t slog through a decade of ballet and come out the other side with no skills, buster.”

“Wait, you did ballet for ten years?” Gosalyn asked.

“Well, yeah! What, did you think your old dad was just naturally athletic?”

Gosalyn shrugged.

“I just thought you were incredibly stubborn.”

Drake opened his mouth to argue, then closed it and shrugged.

“Well, yeah, that too.” He turned back to his brother, hands on his hips. “So, what do you say, Musky? Think you can take me?”

Muscovy stared at him, then narrowed his eyes, pulling off his suit jacket.

“You’re on.”

“Oh, yeah!” Gosalyn cheered. “This is  _ awesome!  _ I’ve always wanted to call a real match!”

“Uh, Gos, sweetie, this isn’t that kind of-!”

“Hey, you two interrupted the go-home Roar for Summerbash, I’m already missing Clawsha Banks versus Sapphire Storm.  _ Let me have this.” _

Drake put his hands up in surrender.

“Okay, okay! Just... keep a safe distance.”

“You let her watch wrestling?”

“Hey, it’s TV-PG! And besides, she was into it  _ way  _ before I came into the picture.”

* * *

“The following contest is a singles’ match scheduled for one fall! We don’t have a ring, so this is a no-count out match! Falls count anywhere!” Gosalyn gestured at Drake. “On this side, hailing from St. Canard, Calisota, and weighing in at one hundred and fifteen pounds, the terror that flaps in the night, the coffee in the ‘World’s Best Dad’ mug,  _ Darkwing Duck!” _

“Wait, why would my weight and where I’m from matter-?”

“Because that’s how wrestling works,  _ Dad!”  _ Gosalyn rolled her eyes, then gestured at Muscovy. “And on this side, also hailing from St. Canard, Calisota, and weighing in at... uh... hundred and twenty?”

Muscovy wiggled his hand.

“Eh, more or less.”

“Okay, one hundred and twenty pounds, it’s state senate candidate Muscovy Mallard!”

“Wait, how did you know I’m running for state senate?”

“Uh, I looked you up while you and Dad were talking,  _ duh.”  _ Gosalyn cleared her throat. “Alright, boys, I want a good, clean fight! No weapons, no dirty moves, no interference, and no targeting the ref!”

“What ref?”

“Uh,  _ me,  _ duh!” She shrugged. “Sorry, I don’t have a striped shirt with me. I’ll also be calling the match.”

Muscovy shot him a confused look, and all Drake could do was shrug. 

“Now, then. On the count of three, you two get started!” She took a step back, holding her phone up in the air. “One... two... three!”

She tapped her phone, which let out a sound like a bell ringing. Drake didn’t waste a second, rushing at his brother to try and catch him off guard. Unfortunately, Muscovy seemed to have the same idea, and they ended up grabbing each other, pushing as hard as they could to get an advantage.

“Oh, and both Darkwing and Mallard are going for it straight out of the gate! They seem to be pretty evenly matched here, but all it’ll take is one misstep for either of them to get the upper hand!”

Drake grit his teeth, then reared back, kneeing his brother in the stomach. Muscovy stumbled, and Drake quickly pushed him over, getting on top of him and pinning him to the floor.

“And Darkwing goes for the pin!” Gosalyn shouted as she slid down next to them. “One... two... th-!”

Muscovy kicked out just as Gosalyn was about to say three, pushing Drake off and getting to his feet. Drake managed to avoid his brother’s kick, doing a back hand-spring to dodge him and get back to his feet. 

“Mallard’s not going down without a fight, it seems!” 

Muscovy barrelled towards him, tackling him to the ground. Drake caught his hands with his own, but still found himself with his shoulders on the floor. Gosalyn slid in again.

“One... two-!”

Drake twisted, getting his right shoulder into the air.

“Hey, why’d you quit counting?!”

“Both shoulders have to be touching the floor, or it doesn’t count!”

“What?! That’s such a load of bull-!”

Drake managed to get his foot lined up with his brother’s stomach, kicking him there and forcing him to let go. 

“And Darkwing kicks out! Oh, now he’s- whoa, is he gonna do it?”

Drake smirked as his brother staggered to his feet, kicking him in the side as he steadied.

_ “YES!  _ Perfect kick, the American Dragon would be so proud!”

“Ugh... where on Earth did you even learn this stuff?”

“The Duck Avenger is nothing if not a thorough teacher!” Drake replied as he grabbed his brother from behind, locking his arms around his shoulders.

“Uh, wait, time-out! Dad, no, no suplexes!”

“What? Why not?”

“Uh, because there’s absolutely no way he’s trained to take that kind of bump? Especially not on concrete. You’ll bust his head open!”

Drake blinked, then shrugged, releasing Muscovy from his hold.

“Fair point.”

“Thank you. Continue!”

Before Drake could even think about moving, Muscovy elbowed him in the face, sending him stumbling back. His brother advanced on him, but Drake responded with an uppercut to the jaw, pulling him into a headlock. 

“Hey, Gos, I thought you were gonna be calling this match.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Uh, Darkwing’s got Mallard in a headlock, and he’s brought him down to his knees-!”

Muscovy suddenly reversed the hold, spinning Drake around onto his back and covering him.

“One... tw-!”

Drake kicked out, trying to tackle his brother but quickly finding himself pinned again.

“One... two-!”

Drake kicked out. Got pinned once more.

“One... two... thr-!”

Drake kicked out.

“Argh!” Muscovy shouted in frustration as they both got to their feet. “Why won’t you just- just  _ stay down?!” _

Drake chuckled, shaking his head before rushing his brother.

“Because I don’t give up!”

He intercepted Muscovy’s punch, using it to turn him around and flick him in the back of the head.

“When I fall down, I get right back up!”

He ducked when Muscovy tried to grab him, pushing him off balance.

“Because I am the terror that flaps in the night!”

He swept his brother’s leg out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor.

“I am the seat on the couch that gets stolen seconds after you get up!”

He flipped him over, grabbing his arm and sitting on his back.

“I...  _ am Darkwing Duck!” _

He started twisting his arm into an unnatural position, and Muscovy cried out, flailing uselessly as he tried in vain to grab Drake and pull him off. Drake pushed even harder, and finally-  _ finally-  _ Muscovy tapped out, smacking the floor with his palm.

Drake smirked, immediately letting go before getting off of his still prone brother and sitting next to him.

“And that’s it, folks! Your winner by submission, and officially the tougher brother here,  _ Darkwing Duck!” _

“That... wasn’t what was on the line...” Muscovy mumbled, sounding a little dazed.

“Hey, people who tap out don’t get to decide what the winner gets!”

Muscovy groaned, then suddenly chuckled as he rolled onto his back. 

“I’m like, eighty-percent certain you used that ‘I am’ line when you were seven and made me pretend to be Quackerjack.”

Drake laughed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, but you let me win that time.”

“Course I did, you were a little kid.” Muscovy sighed, running his hand over his face. “Definitely didn’t let you win just now.”

Drake sighed.

“Look, I understand your concern- believe me, I had the same ones when Launchpad first suggested that I do this.”

“Launchpad?”

“Yeah, he was the one who first told me that I could... that I could be Darkwing Duck for real, not just play him in some crappy movie. And yeah, I  _ don’t  _ have any superpowers, or- or a fancy robot suit, or anything but my own fists and a fancy gas gun. I’m just some scrappy idiot who watched way too much TV as a kid.” He took a breath. “But believe me when I say I’m not just- rushing in blind. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, and I’m well aware of the dangers.”

“Drake...”

“I know what could happen, Musk. But I’m not doing this for a thrill, or to get back at Mom and Dad, or because I like the attention- though that part  _ is  _ pretty sweet. I’m doing this because it  _ feels  _ right, because I want to help people, to make a difference. I don’t need you to protect me, because I’m perfectly capable of protecting myself now.”

He looked down at his brother, smiling softly.

“But I  _ would  _ like my brother back. If that’s okay with you.”

Muscovy blinked, then smiled back, grunting as he sat up.

“Only if you don’t tell Carly I got beat up by my little brother. She still thinks I’m cool.”

“Dude, she married you, she  _ knows  _ you’re not cool.”

Muscovy laughed, then paused when his jacket started buzzing. 

“Aw, crap, that’s... that’s probably my campaign manager calling to yell at me...” He sighed as he got to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck as he went to get his cell phone from his jacket. “Heeeey, Casey. So, I know this looks bad-  _ what do you mean I’m ahead by twenty points?!” _

Drake blinked as his brother went wide-eyed, watching as he walked away.

“Sooo,” Gosalyn started as she sat down next to him, “I guess I have an uncle now, huh?”

Drake smiled.

“Yeah, I guess you do.”

“Oh. Okay, cool, I guess.”

“... you don’t trust him, do you.”

“Nope.”

Drake sighed, shaking his head.

“Well, I guess that’s something we’ll just have to work on.” He put an arm around his daughter, tugging her close. “But I’m pretty happy to have a brother again.”

“Well, as long as you’re happy...”

Drake smiled over at his brother.

“Yeah. I am.”

**Author's Note:**

> For the record, Launchpad also doesn't trust Muscovy once he meets him, though that's because, as the older brother of a trans sibling, he can't quite forgive Muscovy for not standing up for Drake.
> 
> Anyway, today's fic was actually one that I deliberated on for a while- I wasn't sure if I wanted Muscovy to be a dick or not up until the last fic was finished. I finally decided that it was more interesting- at least to me- to have him not have been actively awful to Drake when they were growing up, but also not have been a particularly good older brother. I think it's a better story to see them try to mend their relationship in spite of their parents and have him try to be better. It kinda fits with Drake's whole thing about doing a better job of parenting Gosalyn than his parents did for him. 
> 
> And yes, there are a lot of wrestling references in this one again. Now, I wrote all of this before yesterday, so I still had some hope for Hell in a Cell (for those of you who don't follow me on Tumblr, it was- it was pretty bad). A quick primer-   
Moe Houston- Bo Dallas  
Hay Wyatt- Bray Wyatt, who has since become the Fiend (and I'm not giving up on him yet, this is still the best thing going in WWE dammit)  
The Awoken One- "Woken" Matt Hardy  
Junior Perfect- Curtis Axel (this is a play on how his late father, Curt Henning, had the ring name "Mr. Perfect," and yes I know the Axel part is a reference to his grandfather, naming things is hard okay!)  
Michael Crow- Michael Cole (who is annoying, but I did appreciate him standing up for Chad Gable, who's not that flipping short WWE)  
Clawsha Banks- Sasha Banks  
Sapphire Storm- Ruby Riott  
The Deletion Cult- Deleters of Worlds  
The C-Team- the B-Team  
Summerbash- Summerslam
> 
> That's it for this fic! Thank you so much for reading. Wednesday's fic will involve Team Two-Dads and their respective fathers going to Meet the Teacher Night, which, if that's not a thing where you live, is basically where kids and parents go and meet their teachers before the school year starts. After that, the second multi-chapter fic in this series will begin!
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


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